Saturday, August 02, 2008

So Monday night I am feeling pretty chastened by the refusal of the US markets to bounce the required 5 points (starting at 11:30 US time)... they just kept sliding through the session and USSpyers had to go home underwater (but boy, didn't it pay off over the ensuing days...).

Anyhow, as I was aying. Sitting, a bit chastened (but not overly-so - knew the bounce was comin').

Then the loudest thunderclap I have ever heard (and Iv'e heard some gooduns). The lights went out for about ten seconds, the 'puters all rebooted, but without any linkingages to the internets tubes.

Woe, Alas, Lack-a-day. Mince (that's what ladies say in French instead of 'merde').

My neufbox was deaded - comletely and utterly deaded.

Neuf is the seond biggest itnernet provider in France after France Telecom. The name means '9', but it also means 'New' - but only in the sense of 'brand new'. You can have all sorts of stupid cutesy games - there is a chain of baby clothes stores called bebe9 (bebe neuf ... new baby)

Anyhow... Neuf fancies itself as new breed, so it doesn't have shopfronts. Since Neuf doesn't have shops, you have to ring them to get a replacement box (even if you live in Paris - and I am in the Deepest Darkest countryside). So I ring, and they say "We will send you new box in the post". That was Tuesday morning.

It arrived today, and I have spent the last seven hours wrestling with the bastard thing trying to get it to work. I won, as you can plainly see.